21/05/2012

Jean-Michel Jarre’s 10 Favorite Synths

The Red Bull Music Academy has published an really interesting interview with synthesist Jean Michel Jarre, in which he shares his 10 favorite synths.

“Today,
same as a piano or a saxophone, an ARP remains a classic instrument,
and one that we’ll still be using in two centuries time,” notes Jarre.
“After having weighed up the advantages of the virtual, today we’re
realising that we’re made of flesh and blood…..and we have an absolute
need for an emotional and tactile relationship with our instruments.”

Here are Jarre’s ten favorite synths. There are some surprises on the
list – so check it out and let us know what you think of Jarre’s picks!

Jean Michel Jarre’s 10 Favorite Synths:

E.M.S VCS 3 (1969) – “My first synth, Europe’s
answer to the American Moog: a Mini versus a Cadillac. Post-war
technology had led us to an European electronic sound which was very
different to the American sound.”

ARP 2600 (1971)
– “ARPs are like the Stradivarius or the Steinways of electronic music.
They were invented by craftsmen who, today, we’d place on the same
level as the luthiers that built violins, clavichords, pianos – all of
the acoustic instruments.”

ARP 2500 (1969) – “This is the big brother of the ARP 2600, created to compete with the modular Moog”.

Fairlight CMI (1979)
– “The Fairlight is an instrument which immediately struck me as
extraordinary when it first appeared on the market, because it brought
to mind the way that I approached electroacoustic music when I started
out – that’s to say with two decks, some scissors and some
cellotape. The limits of this machine awarded it an extraordinary
poetry.”

Roland JD-800 (1991) – “With the
JD-800, you could modify the sound, as you can on an ARP or a Moog, but
with a Japanese sound quality, which in some respects, is more refined.”

Memory Moog (1982)
– “With the Memorymoog, and other synths that came out around the same
time, in one fell swoop, we could make complete chords, and that changed
everything. For better and for worse. As a result, we ceased to compose
electronic music the classic way, as Wendy Carlos did. “

RMI Keyboard Computer (1974)
– “It created a very different sound to anything else that could be
heard at the time, precisely because the digital edge added a certain
coolness. This synth was to music what the film Tron was to cinema at
the time.”

Eminent 310 (1970) – “This synth
defines my sound, from Les Mots Bleus by Christophe and the songs of
Patrick Juvet, right up to Oxygène and Equinoxe, where I used it
heavily. To this day, I still use it frequently.”

Teenage Engineering OP-1 (2011)
– “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen something as interesting,
flexible and creative as this. And importantly, its inventors have
reintroduced a notion which had been desperately lacking: humour.”

Mellotron (1963)
– “This is another mythical instrument from the electroacoustic scene,
since it was one of the first samplers well ahead of the Fairlight. It’s
the sound of the 40s adapted for the music of the 60s.”

We’ve included quotes from Jarre on his favorites, but he goes into more detail about each of the synths in the interview.
Jarre will featured at a Red Bull Music Academy session May 16, 2012. See the Red Bull site for details.

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Jean Michel Jarre first came to international fame with his number one hit album, « OXYGENE » which went on to sell over 18 million copies worldwide.

A pioneer in his field, Jarre has largely contributed to the fastest growing musical revolution of the 20th century, electronic music : conceiving music in terms of sounds rather than only in terms of notes, and thus allowing the composer to become his own craftsman.

Having followed formal studies of harmony and counterpoint at the Conservatoire de Paris, he was inspired to reinvent music at its core, with his own singular vision, deploying the technology and tools of his epoch.

This pioneering approach gave birth to worldwide hit albums such as "OXYGENE","EQUINOXE", MAGNETIC FIELDS", "ZOOLOOK", "RENDEZVOUS", "WAITING FOR COUSTEAU"...over 80 million albums sold to date.

Following through with his revolution in music, he also conceived a brand-new genre and format of concerts; breaking away from the traditional theatre and arena context, Jarre brought his music and vision outdoors to the masses. Often free and open-to-all, these stateof- the-art concert-spectaculars showcase the natural or urban environment in which they are performed -- a truly singular sonic and visual "land-art" event, conceived and performed on a unique scale for a one-off experience.

Jarre's legendary concerts have attracted Guinness Record-breaking audiences across the planet. They take place in exceptional settings, marking extra-ordinary contexts: first western musician invited to perform in post-Mao Red China, Millennium at the Great Pyramids of Egypt, Houston City concert in collaboration with NASA in memory of the Challenger space crew, Concert for His Holiness Pope John Paul II, France's Eiffel Tower in celebration of World Cup victory, Gdansk's shipyard at the initiative of Nobel Peace Laureate Lech Walesa, London's Docklands, Beijing's Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square, the Sahara Desert...to the absolute record live audience of 3.5 million in Moscow.

Most recently, Jean Michel Jarre embarked on his first ever world tour which has already taken him to over 30 countries with over 220 performances.

July 2011, HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco called upon Jean Michel Jarre to celebrate his Royal Wedding by creating and performing a concert-event in the Principality which was largely broadcast on television & Internet worldwide to an estimated audience of 3 billion.

The French musician has a dedicated ongoing engagement to the United Nations via UNESCO, as Ambassador and spokesperson for Environment and Education.